A showing has one job: to put the right applicant in front of a lease they are ready to sign. That happens when the visitor already knows the price, the rules and the move-in date, sees a clean home at a good time, and leaves with the application in hand. It rarely happens when the details come out one question at a time.
Before the first showing
Write down five things and put them on a one-page sheet:
- The price and the money. Rent, security deposit, any pet charges, application fee, and which utilities the tenant pays.
- The term. A fixed-term lease, usually 12 months, sets the rent and the end date. A month-to-month tenancy is easier to leave for both sides. Say which you offer.
- The move-in date.
- The screening criteria. Income (many landlords ask for three times the rent), credit and rental history, the most occupants you allow, and your pet policy. Any occupancy limit has to be reasonable for the home.
- How to apply.
Hand the same sheet to every visitor. It saves your time, it saves theirs, and it is the start of treating everyone the same.
Showing a home someone still lives in
A current tenant’s home is still their home until they leave. Showing it is an entry, and your state’s right-of-entry rules apply. California presumes 24 hours’ written notice is reasonable. Washington requires at least one day’s notice to show a unit to prospective tenants. Texas has no statute on entry notice, so the lease governs. The landlord entry notice by state table has every state.
Ask the tenant which times work, group showings into one or two windows a week, and thank them. A tenant who is leaving on good terms keeps the place tidy and tells visitors the truth, which is usually good news for you.
Scheduling and safety
- Confirm the day before by text, and ask for a reply. A slot nobody confirms is a slot you can give away.
- Use windows, not single slots, when interest is high: 20-minute visits back to back, or an open house for an hour on a weekend.
- Get a name and phone number before a private showing, show in daylight when you can, and bring someone along to an empty unit.
At the showing
Arrive early. Turn on every light, open the blinds, set the heat or air to comfortable. Walk the home in a set order and point out what matters to daily life: laundry, storage, parking, where the sun comes in. Answer questions honestly, including the hard ones about noise or parking. A tenant who learns about the train after move-in is a tenant who leaves at the first chance.
End every showing the same way: the sheet, the application, and when you will decide.
Fair housing, in plain words
The federal Fair Housing Act says you cannot treat people differently because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status (children under 18 in the household, including a pregnant applicant) or disability. State and local laws add more: depending on where you rent, source of income, marital status, age, sexual orientation or student status may be protected too. At a showing, that means:
- Same script for everyone. The same homes, the same prices, the same answers.
- No steering. Don’t point anyone toward or away from a unit, a floor or a neighborhood because of who they are. “Families usually like the other building” is steering. Describe the options and let them choose.
- Don’t say it’s taken when it isn’t. Telling someone a unit is unavailable because of a protected trait breaks the Act.
- Don’t ask about protected traits. Not where someone is from, not their religion, not whether they plan to have children, not about a disability or medication. Ask everyone the same questions: move-in date, number of occupants, pets, income, rental history.
- One set of criteria, applied to everyone. Written down, applied in the order applications arrive.
- Hear accommodation requests. A request for a ground-floor showing or an assistance animal is a request to consider, not a nuisance. The guide to support animals in rentals covers how it works.
Some small owners are exempt from parts of the federal Act, but never from its ban on discriminatory ads and statements, and state law may cover them anyway.
From showing to signed lease
Screen in the order applications arrive, against the sheet, and answer within two days.
A 2-bedroom rents for $1,850 a month with a $1,850 security deposit. The current tenant leaves on Saturday, October 31, 2026, and after two weeks of turnover the home is available on Monday, November 16.
A couple applies after the first open house. At a 3× screen, $1,850 rent needs gross income of $5,550 a month, or $66,600 a year. Their combined income is $6,200 a month, and their rental history checks out. Approved on Wednesday.
The rent-to-income calculator runs the same check for any applicant, at 2.5×, 3× or 3.5×. Most landlords add up the income of everyone who will sign.
The lease starts on November 16. November has 30 days, so the first month is 15 days: $1,850 × 15 ÷ 30 = $925.00. Then 12 full months from December 1, 2026, to November 30, 2027.
At signing, the couple pays $925.00 of rent and the $1,850 deposit: $2,775.00.
The prorated rent calculator shows the same $925.00. Check the deposit against your state’s cap before you print the lease; the security deposit limits by state table lists every cap and return deadline, and a security deposit above the cap is a problem you create at signing.
If you take a holding deposit while you screen, put the terms in writing: how much, how long you will hold the home, and whether it is credited to the first month or refunded if you say no. States treat these differently.
When showings don’t turn into leases
Count what happens. Plenty of showings and no applications usually means the price is high for what the home offers; the guide to how much to charge for rent walks through a quick comparison. Few showings means the listing is not working: better photos, a clearer first line, the rent in the headline. Applications that fail your screen mean the criteria and the price are aimed at different renters. Fix one thing at a time and give it a week.
Questions people ask
How much notice does a landlord need to show an occupied rental?
It depends on the state and the lease. California presumes 24 hours’ written notice is reasonable, Washington requires one day’s notice for showings to prospective tenants, and some states leave it to the lease. Check the entry-notice table for your state and give notice in writing.
What questions can a landlord not ask at a showing?
Do not ask about race, religion, national origin, whether someone has or plans to have children, or about a disability or medication. Ask everyone the same things instead: move-in date, number of occupants, pets, income and rental history. State and local laws may protect more traits.
Are open houses better than private showings?
An open house saves time when interest is high and makes the home feel in demand. Private showings suit a slower market or an occupied home, where fewer visits disturb the tenant less. Either way, give every visitor the same information sheet and the same application.
Written by LoomLease editors. Published September 30, 2026. Plain English, not legal, tax or financial advice: your lease, your state’s law and a professional who knows your situation decide what applies.